The Unseelie Kind
by DarkestDistance
Summary: The full story of Niall and Irial, from when they met to after Darkest Mercy. It is a 'gay' pairing, if that's not your cup of tea then don't drink it. Rated M for good reason. Updated.
1. Chapter 1

**Dark****:** This is my version of Niall and Irial. It starts before _Wicked Lovely_ and will end sometime after_ Darkest Mercy._ Rated **M** for things to come, since the gancanaghs do share a 'complicated and romantic' history.

Sadly, I don't own Marr's story (aside from the book permanently residing at the foot of my bed). However, since it is such a beautiful tale, I tried to follow it as much as possible. So enjoy.

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_The girl was weeping, clutching Niall's arm, when the dark-haired faery approached. The girl had bared herself when she entered the woods and had innumerable scratc__h__es on her flesh._

_"She's an affectionate thing," the faery said._

_Niall shook her off again. "She's been drinking, I suspect. She wasn't so" -he grabbed her hand as she began unfastening his breeches- "aggressive last week."_

_"Indeed." The dark-haired faery laughed. "Like animals, aren't they?"_

_"Mortals?" Niall stepped closer to him, dodging the girl's agile hands. "They seem to hide it well enough at first... They change, though."_

_The other faery laughed and caught the girl up in his arms. "Maybe you're just irr__e__sistible."_

_Niall straightened his clothes now that the girl was contained. She stayed motionless in the other faery's grasp, looking from one to the other like she was insensible._

_The dark-haired faery watched Naill with a curious grin. "I'm Irial. Perhaps we could take this one somewhere less" -he looked up the path toward the mortals' town- "pu__b__lic." The lascivious look on Irial's face was the most enticing thing Niall had ever seen. He had a brief flash of terror at his tangled mix of feelings. Then Irial licked his lips and laughed. "Come on, Niall. I think you could use a bit of company, couldn't you?"_

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**Niall:**

They left the mortal girl, who had finally collapsed in a 'drunken fit,' at the town's brothel, where she was welcomed by the Mistress like a sister.

"It wouldn't hurt to stay, would it, darlings?" Her hand ran down her exposed cleavage then along her waist as she moved un-tastefully closer to Niall.

"Another time, perhaps." Irial placed a light kiss upon her overtly reddened cheek and lead Niall back into the woods.

While they walked, Niall took in careful notice of how the other faery look; tall and lean, with skin so tanned it seemed dark. His hair was dark, seemingly wild but contained just enough as to not cause problems. But most striking were his blue-black eyes, swirling like an endless abyss.

And if looked at ever so slightly out of the corner of an eye; one could see wisps of shadows clinging to him as he moved.

Irial stopped under an ancient oak, dead in winter's embrace, thriving in summer's. The tree seemed to be both at once. Its leaves fell and withered to the ground, only to be quickly replaced by new buds at random. The tree was in a constant flow, balance.

"What is it?" Niall pondered out loud as he pressed his palm against the bark, cold and hot in intervals.

"Sorcha's. Her puppet-brother planted it her long ago," Irial pulled a long and thin pipe from his pocket and lit it, "At her request, of course."

Although it was another question that was on Niall's mind, he allowed himself to be distracted by the tree, "Her puppet-brother?"

"Devlin, I believe. The High Queen controls his every movement, and has a nasty habit of stealing fey and half-lings from the other courts." Irial grimaced at the thought as he smoked.

"So why are we here then?" Still not the right question, but close. _Who are you?_ The words lingered on his tongue.

"I said you needed company, and the place is quite the place. Besides, it was about time you let go of the harlot who was clinging to so desperately, gancanagh."

"Pardon?" Niall noticed the curious look in Irial's eyes. "Gancanagh? I'm afraid you've lost me yet again."

A strange smile formed on Irial upturned lips, "Gancanagh, of the Irish fey. One the Dark Court's more... intriguing kinds."

Niall shook his head, "I'm not Irish, nor a court fey."

* * *

**Irial:**

_For now._ Irial thought. He laughed softly as he smoked. "Would you like to be?"

Niall, at the very least, looked stunned. Under the surface, Irial tasted a splash of desire and longing. The faery ran a hand through his dark brown hair, attempting to grasp the question. The tang of fear mixed with realization filled the heavy air.

"Who are you?" Niall questioned, almost backing up in reverence.

"I think you know the answer to that already, gancanagh." Irial took a step closer to the other faery, smoke filling his breath. Niall flinched back, most fey couldn't stand the stuff. "I'll give you a hint; I, too, am one of the_ unseelie_."

"Dark Court." Niall's recognition of the world flashed briefly through his eyes. "You're... a Dark fey."

"Close, Niall," Irial closed the small distance between them, and then whispered into the faery's ear, "but there's more than that."

Niall's desire to push Irial away was almost palpable, but even solitary fey knew the dangers of that. Rumors of the Dark Court had also reached Niall's ears, Irial knew, and that would freeze most fey to have that knowledge with him so close.

"What does the Dark King want with me?" Niall backed up into the Changing Tree.

"I already told you, gancanaghes are _dark_ fey. I want you to join my- no, our court." Irial backed off, giving the fey more distance. Inhaling a large amount of smoke, he looked up at the sky. The setting sun had made the shadows clinging to him almost tangible. His ethereal wings began to form. "I don't believe you need to decide now, but do consider my request, Niall."

With that, the shadow-made faery sauntered off into the thick trees.

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**Dark:**Thank you for reading, the next chapter will (hopefully) be up in a couple of days. Reviews keep me going, so leave me a note.


	2. Chapter 2

**Dark:** So here's the next chapter, which is longer than the last... sorry 'bout that. Again, for now (hopefully), I own nothing, except your souls. But onto Niall and Irial.

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_"The Unseelie Court consists of the malicious and evilly-inclined fairies. Unlike the Seelie Court, no offense is necessary to bring down their assaults. Like the beings of the Seelie Court who are not always benevolent, neither are the fairies of the Unseelie Court always malevolent. However, when forced to choose, they will always prefer to harm—rather than to help— [people]. The division into "seely" and "unseely" spirits was roughly equivalent to [the division of] "light" and "dark" distinctions."_

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__**Niall:**

Niall glanced at the dimming sky, his heart still beating like a hare's. Just the smoke, he tried to convince himself. Irial, a strange faery. Most fey couldn't stand something as earthly as smoke. That alone should have given him away.

Yes, Niall should have followed his instincts the first time terror flashed down his spine. But there was something intriguing about Irial, whether it was his presence or the look in his eyes when he was a hair away from Niall.

Nereid, a lovely water fey he met long ago once warned him of the Dark Court._ It's never good to attract their attention or accept their offers, _She had said._ All of their 'gifts' come with a price, one you never will want to pay._

Niall knew this, but there was something else. He had been solitary for so long, he wanted -no, needed -change.

_Besides_, he tried to rationalize, _if I were a dark fey, would they hurt me? Surely even the Dark Court wouldn't harm their own._

The stars were starting to come out, piercing ever so slightly through the stygian sky. The Season's Tree seemed to give off its own dim light, pulsating hazes of blue and warm red randomly. One moment, it sapped the life out of the air with its chill. The next, it shot warmth through the sky. It was beautiful.

Niall suddenly knew why Irial had brought him here; it was a place for change._ 'Change isn't so bad, is it, gancanagh?'_ He figured Irial would say something like that if he remained.

_Gancanagh_, an interesting title. Niall wondered how it was that Irial had known who he was. Was it because he truly did belong with the Dark Court?

Niall stood and began pacing in deep thought.

Troubled as he was, Niall had no one to turn to for advice. Due to years of solitude, there weren't many on Earth or in Faerie who he could call friends. Even of those few, none of them seemed like the helpful-guiding type. In fact, Nereid was the only one who had lent him any words of wisdom in his time. And they point away from the Dark Court, Niall thought.

But, the alternative to accepting Irial's offer was to turn him down, an insult the Dark fey would not easily suffer to pass. The rumor's of the Hunt's vengeful strikes sent shiver back down his spine.

"This would be easier if I knew what Irial really wanted," Niall muttered to himself. "It'd make sense if I had answers. That's what I need, answers."

"Ta' what questions?" A bright and peppy voice rang behind him.

Niall spun on heel to find his nose brushing against another fey's, her dove eyes right in front of his.

She frowned as he stumbled back in shock, "Ta' what questions do ya need answers?"

Niall took in how she looked, abnormally thin and childlike. Violet irises filled her eyes completely, black pupils directly in the center. Her skin was pale, and in some parts, her bones showed. On top her head, nappy blonde hair sprouted in all directions_. Definitely fey_.

"Wha' questions do ya need answered, mistar?" She demanded as Niall took a breath to collect himself.

"Just questions," he responded slowly, as if he was talking to a child. "Who are you?"

"Me? I'm happy, sil~ly!" She perked up and twirled, "And ya?"

"Uh, confused. A lot," Niall stared at her, happy indeed. "What's your name, um, happy?"

"Oh, sil~ly!" She sung, "It's Mirthful. Mirthy-Mirth-Mirthful!"

He was pretty sure_ mirthful_ meant happy.

"So, Mirthful. Do you need something?" Niall wasn't the kind to send young ladies off.

"Nope, but confuzed does, don't ya?" She laughed then straightened out the yellow, frilly dress she wore.

"Not unless you know what you're supposed to when the Dark King asks you to join his court, and you're not sure if you want to." He smiled sadly.

"Well, Mi-Miach could help ya, if da Dark Court's been botherin' ya." She smiled brightly, "Mimi's ma King, ya know?"

"Mim- you mean Miach." It was more of a statement then a quetion. At least he knew the name of the Summer King,_ but not the Dark?_ Strange.

"Miach's a good King, and he's friends with Iri~al." As the sun disappeared completely, Mirthful began to lighten up. Her skin bright, and her eyes shining. Then, with a solemn expression she added, "But Irial, he's a scary one, for sur'. Nuthin' seems happy 'bout him, no siree."

Niall almost laughed, Mirthful would be a fine and proper lady if she spoke more finely. _And gained a few pounds_, he thought when he noticed her pointed and thin limbs and empty stomach.

The next thing she said caught him by surprise; "Can't say da same fo' some a da other Dark fey, tho. Some a dem" -she smiled almost a little wickedly-" are a good bit a fun."

Niall looked at her, a bit stunned.

"But, if it's answers ya want, why don'tcha ask Iria'l yoself? Not like he's a gonna do ya much harm if he really wants ya to join him, righ'? No point in gettin' mad a' a cautious fellow, ya know?"

_I'm starting to like this one_, "Actually, you're right. There's not."

"'Course I am," she flashed her eyelids at him. "But, if ya re~ally don't wanna be a Dark fey, ya might not wanna do dat. I met da Gabriel wonce, and he ain't a kind man to dose that insult Iria'l, if ya know what I mean."

"No, I would guess not. However, I haven't an idea as to where I might find Irial, so that might be out." Niall couldn't help but smile at the other fey. Mirthful had started singing her words again, and for such a frail girl, she her voice was amazing.

"We~ll, happy knows. Up da mountains, over dere," She pointed to the distant peaks, barely visible at night, "'sa castle where de dark fey stay in dese parts. Can't say I'ma very fond a da place, but ya coul' find Iria'l dere, fo sur'."

"You're very kind Mirthful, I'm in your debt." He lightly brushed a kiss on her cheek. "Since I'd rather talk to Irial on my own terms, meaning during the day, I should leave now. It seems to be a fair distance away."

"Well, a course mistar... He~ey, what's ya name?" She smiled up at him, large doe eyes filled with honey blinking.

"Niall, it's Niall." He returned her smile, and outstretched his hand toward her. "Pleasure to meet you."

"Nice ta meet ya, too, Nia~all." Instead of shaking, she pulled him into a swift embrace, "Ya gotta promise me ya'll stay safe, kay?"

He kissed the top of her head, but said nothing. 'Safe' wasn't a luxury he could afford where he was going.

"Goodbye, Mirthful. Let us meet again, someday."

"Bye now, Niall."

With that, he turned, and headed to whatever fate laid before him in the Castle of the Mountains.

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**Irial:**

Irial stood, one arm over against his head against the window. Pipe in hand and close-eyed, he calmed his breathing and cleared his mind.

He'd known exactly who Niall was the second he saw him for the first time, in Stratford-upon-Avon. There, he had a Hound follow him, keeping tabs and learning certain things about him; the name, for example. How could he not?

A gancanagh, Irial thought. One would be an extreme asset to his court, but Irial also couldn't resist meeting one of his fellow kin. Almost three millennium ago, Irial had been one as well. But that was before he'd become the Dark King.

"Strange how he didn't know, though. If it'd been me, I'd have attempted to 'seduce' my way into power." Irial thought out loud.

"Probably still a kid," Gabriel growled behind him.

"Aah, I almost forgot you were there," Irial leaned off the window to look at his Hound. "What news of Bananach? I pray she hasn't been causing trouble overseas in my absence."

"None compared to usual; I'd be concerned, Iri. She normally takes time like this to plot some mutiny or other horror."

Irial smirked, "Well horror and mutiny I can deal with, but Miach has made it clear how much he despises her. I rather liked the theater he burnt down in anger. What was it called again?"

"Globe-something,"Gabriel mumbled, he had not liked that particular disaster.

"Ah, right. Anyway, I haven't much need of you here," Irial breathed out smoke, "and I'd prefer to deal with our_ friend_ personally. Deal with her, will you?"

The orders formed smokey words on his forearm, proof his King willed his actions. Gabriel bowed and took his leave.

The Dark King smirked to the rising sun in the distance. Soon, he'd go find Niall, the gancanagh _would_ join the court.

_And then the fun begins._

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**Dark:** Next chapter will be up shortly, please review. Or don't, I'll never know, you know?


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